Whose Going to Look After the Dog?

This is really a metaphorical question for every detail about what happens to all of our responsibilities when we are no longer able to take care of them ourselves, either as a result of debilitating illness or our death.

There is much to consider. If we are parents - who would look after the children? And if we are responsible for looking after elderly relatives, what happens to their care? What happens to our business, our possessions and all our other affairs?

At any point in our life, it is well worth considering putting in place a Lasting Power of Attorney of which there are two aspects to consider - one being for Financial and Property and the other for Health and Welfare.

We may think that a power of Attorney is something that older people should consider, but as many of us may know, illness or accident may come along at any time and leave us in a position where we are unable to communicate our wishes. In this case those in charge of our care are left to do the best they can and are able to make some of those decisions on our behalf - but what if those decisions are not in line with what we would want?

There is also the issue of finance, where others may need access to our bank account in order to apply our care or keep things going for us on our behalf, such as running the home or paying the bills.

We would all like to assume that these things don't happen, but in reality they do - and it can cause many issues at a time when we are less equipped to deal with such challenges.

When choosing someone to be an executor for your Will, it is very wise to consider carefully who is best placed for these roles. Having Power of Attorney, can be quite demanding and not something to be taken lightly.

An Executor will have many responsibilities that will take time and planning to accomplish and a person acting as Power of Attorney will also have a very responsible role. In both cases it's important to talk through everything with your chosen representatives and make them aware of all that is required in their role and how you would like things to be carried out, all of which is best written down by yourself, in order to be clearly understood and therefore administered.